Hydeia Broadbent, a prominent advocate for HIV awareness who bravely shared her journey of living with the virus from a young age, passed away at her residence in Las Vegas on Tuesday. She was 39 years old.
Her father, Loren Broadbent, confirmed her passing. No specific cause was provided.
Broadbent began her advocacy at the tender age of 6, courageously discussing her experiences with HIV on various television platforms. Her aim was to combat the panic and stigma surrounding AIDS during an era marked by an HIV epidemic, as stated on her website.
In 1992, at the age of 7, Broadbent was interviewed alongside Magic Johnson, the renowned basketball player who had become a prominent figure in the fight against HIV and AIDS following his own diagnosis.
“I want people to know that we’re just normal people,” Broadbent, her face crumpling as she fought through tears, told Johnson. “We are normal people,” he gently reassured her. Johnson posted a clip of the conversation online in a tribute Wednesday.
“I think it just opened a lot of people’s eyes that HIV can happen to anybody, with me being so young,” Broadbent told The New York Times in 2006 about the interview with Johnson.
“My daughter didn’t have a formal education because of her illness,” her mother, Patricia, told the Times in 2001 for an article about teenagers living with AIDS. “My priority was not school, but keeping her healthy for the time she had.”
Broadbent persisted in her public advocacy for HIV and AIDS well into adulthood. Her efforts garnered significant recognition, particularly within the African American community. Ebony magazine acknowledged her influence by including her twice in their list of the “Most Influential 150 African Americans,” in both 2008 and 2011, as outlined in her biography.
As she matured, Broadbent dedicated herself to combating the stigma and dispelling misinformation surrounding AIDS. She worked tirelessly to educate the public about prevention
“I have dedicated my whole life to this fight,” she told CNN in 2012. “I don’t hate my life. I feel like I’m really blessed. But at the same time, my life doesn’t have to be their life. I didn’t have a choice when it came to HIV/AIDS, and people do have a choice.”